Messages - xtrmnt

Haha! (To your response about internet stalkers) Thanks for the compliment! If you call the sign center (from the link I provided), ask for Dave and tell him you want the same van wrap material that was used on the Ones & Zeros Brewing order. Hopefully he will remember. He's a nice guy anyhow and has helped me with decals / signs on other projects too. Good luck on your build! Post pics when it's done and friend me on Facebook. I'm the Chris Allen from Nashville, TN

It would be better to tackle the wiring of the compression/thermostat. Even if you don't know much about wiring, it would be a good idea to physically see how the compressor is currently wired up in your refrigerator. Take lots of pictures before you cut anything as you discover wiring paths, from HOT to NEUTRAL to GROUND. You basically want to bypass your current thermostat and replace it with the cooling side / solid state relay of the BrewPi. I used paint can light bulb heaters in my BrewPi build to heat the chamber. This was connected to the heating side / solid state relay of the BrewPi. Cheers!

"Regarding the idle zones for the beer temp and cycling, in the BrewPi control algorithm there are a few things to prevent cycling and to protect the compressor:

- There are hard coded minimum OFF times (5 minutes) and minimum ON times (3 minutes) to protect the compressor. These are not user configurable, on purpose.- For the fridge temperature, you can set the idle zone (upper and lower limit) in the web interface. The default is -1 and +1 degrees Celsius, compared to the fridge setting.- For the fridge temperature, BrewPi estimates the overshoot that will occur and turn off the compressor in advance.

- The goal of course is to control beer temperature and not fridge temperature. So when BrewPi is set to 'beer constant' or 'beer profile' mode, it will adjust the fridge setting dynamically. To do this, it calculates the proportional, integral and derivative error in beer temp and adds these to the beer setting. The result is the fridge setting. You can adjust this calculation to match your setup. Please refer to this image: http://www.brewpi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/control-algorithm.png- By controlling the fridge temperature to adjust the beer temperature, the beer temperature fluctuates a lot less. Here is an example where the beer is generating heat, so the fridge temperature is below the beer temperature constantly: http://www.brewpi.com/#jp-carousel-1098

I am working on a different way to calculate the derivative for the beer temperature, so the fridge setting will have less spikes. The spikes are caused by the digital sensor: when the least significant bit toggles it seems to rise quickly.

I've been lusting after a brewpi for a while. Glad to hear you love it.

Same here, but I can't wrap my head around it.

I hear what you mean. Look at the builds people post in his forum. Makes more since when you see how others did it. His personal build requires messing the the fridge wiring, but you can go so many ways with what he has done.

He has also streamlined the install and setup from what I can see.

I plant to use powertails instead of wiring the solid state relays. Powertails are basically power supplies with a cord and an outlet along with the inputs that the brewpi would us to tell it to turn on. Way easier that way.

Yes. There are many ways to do it. Initially both refrigerators were connected to Johnson Controls which would control heating or cooling, but not both. The BrewPi handles both heating and cooling. Also to note in comparison, the BrewPi will hold the beer temperature within a 0.1°F. This is significantly different than the Johnson Control that will hold the beer temperature within a range of 2-4°F (or whatever differential you set it to). Because the BrewPi acts like a PID, it is capable of amazing temperature control. By setting up a beer profile within the BrewPi web management page, you can easily step up for a Diacetyl rest, make a slow step down for cold crashing, or do slow temperature steps if wanting the beer to self rise but not get out of control.

isn't the intent of the differential more to protect your compressors from the effects of rapid cycling? (sweet setup by the way)

You are correct regarding the differential. Within the BrewPi, the minimum cool time is set to 5 mins and the max idle time is set to 5 mins. This setting is hardcoded into the software to protect the compressor. Of course, even with a 5 on 5 off setting, the compressor cycles a lot, but due to the thermal load of the conical/beer, especially on a large batch, the idle times can be pretty long. The compressor would be cycling more often during the most active part of the fermentation. For instance, my Dopplebock is currently set to 48°F, but due to the low end of the yeast temperature, the activity is steady but not spiking all the time. In this case, the compressor doesn't come on that often.

I've been lusting after a brewpi for a while. Glad to hear you love it.

Same here, but I can't wrap my head around it.

I hear what you mean. Look at the builds people post in his forum. Makes more since when you see how others did it. His personal build requires messing the the fridge wiring, but you can go so many ways with what he has done.

He has also streamlined the install and setup from what I can see.

I plant to use powertails instead of wiring the solid state relays. Powertails are basically power supplies with a cord and an outlet along with the inputs that the brewpi would us to tell it to turn on. Way easier that way.

Yes. There are many ways to do it. Initially both refrigerators were connected to Johnson Controls which would control heating or cooling, but not both. The BrewPi handles both heating and cooling. Also to note in comparison, the BrewPi will hold the beer temperature within a 0.1°F. This is significantly different than the Johnson Control that will hold the beer temperature within a range of 2-4°F (or whatever differential you set it to). Because the BrewPi acts like a PID, it is capable of amazing temperature control. By setting up a beer profile within the BrewPi web management page, you can easily step up for a Diacetyl rest, make a slow step down for cold crashing, or do slow temperature steps if wanting the beer to self rise but not get out of control.

I must admit I was a little nervous about tearing into my two True GDM-12 glass door refrigerators. Though, the process of modifying them and building the BrewPi's was very rewarding and I am even more glad to have active fermentation going for a Dopplebock and Double IPA using the new BrewPi controllers. I love being able to be laying in bed and pull up the BrewPi management webpage and see what is happening or modify the fermentation profile. By By Johnson Controls, Hello BrewPi!

Of course, now you are wondering...

What is BrewPi?

BrewPi is a fermentation temperature controller for brewing beer or wine. It runs on Raspberry Pi and an Arduino. Compared to other temperature controllers, BrewPi offers much better temperature control and a lot more features like data logging, a web interface and graphs. BrewPi is open source and has an active community. BrewPi developers are working hard to support mash control (BIAB, HERMS or RIMS) in the near future.

BrewPi runs on two very popular boards: a Raspberry Pi and an Arduino. The Raspberry Pi is a credit card sized computer that runs Linux. In BrewPi it runs the web server and a python script to log data and manage settings. The Arduino is a microcontroller board that reads the temperature sensors and activates the cooler, heater and other actuators. It also has an LCD and knob to display and change settings.

Stability and flexibility

The Arduino runs the temperature control algorithm autonomously. If you don't care about data logging, it can control your beer without the Rasberry Pi. This makes this combo very stable: if the Raspberry Pi crashes, the Arduino will still keep your beer temperature perfectly under control. And being a simple embedded device, the Arduino just does not crash. If you want to run BrewPi on something else than a Raspberry Pi, you can! Any platform that has USB and can run a web server and Python will be able to run BrewPi. Web interface

BrewPi runs a local web server that provides a great interface to change settings, view brewing data and to configure your controller. The web interface shows interactive graphs of your current brew and previous brews. You can easily start a new brew, view what the control algorithm is doing, check the logs, load/save temperature profiles, edit the active profile, etc.

I ordered custom cut aluminum step plates that a friend of mine welded to the keg rack. It added a very nice finish. Also, I purchased 4 industrial grade wheels so that it can be moved if needed. Overall it's very stable with 40 gallons filled. I've never tried 60 gallons, but would be very nervous if I did. The best part is that I purchased the keg rack used off craigslist for $75. The total for the complete brew stand with casters and step plate is around $300.

Recently I completed the build out of a new 20 Gallon Electric Brewery System. It uses a HERMS recirculation system. For more details, the following link is to a public radio show where I was interviewed about my system.

The following publication article was written for our local homebrew club, The Music City Brewers

Quantum Leap by Jerry Buckley

The nameplate for Chris and Zea’s newly christened Germantown brewery says “Ones and Zeros Brewing”, but it could have just as appropriately been called something along the lines of “Quantum Leap Brewing”, since the pair has obviously leapfrogged over most - if not all - of the intermediary steps taken by the typical home brewer. I’m referring to the gradual step-by-step progression in automation and sophistication of the brewing environment and equipment. You of course, understand the normal sequence right? Step one finds us brewing partial mash kits in stock pots on the stove top, boiling over and mucking up the range; fermenting in a bucket, and then capping bottles ad nauseam. In phase two, most of us graduate to all grain brewing by mashing in a converted cooler and then man-handling brew pots on the turkey fryer, sweating it out on the patio; utilizing functional but inefficient immersion coolers to chill our wort. Then there are the wrestling matches with kettles and carboys; the hernias and wrenched back muscles; the dog-tired fatigue at the end of an arduous brew day marathon. Then perhaps, there is the advancement to large capacity spigoted brew kettles, plate chillers, kegging paraphernalia, and all the trial and error procedures involved in getting the right set-up and technique. And then - about the time you think you have it figured out - you feel compelled to “upgrade” your equipment, piece-by-piece with more efficient or larger capacity gizmos. Shall we call it the Gradual Progressive Model of home brewing? Not so with Chris's family, who are continuing (albeit accelerating) a family tradition of home brewing. A self described techno-tron, Chris went straight to the top shelf when he designed and special-ordered his all electric brewing system from Stout Tanks and Kettles to snug up the narrow confines of a utility room on the ground floor of their Germantown townhouse. The three tank, twenty gallon system was specifically designed to fit within the limited physical space; but what is lacks in bulk, it more than makes up for in brilliance. The project encompassed five months from inception to completion, and is the embodiment of Chris’s knack for planning and precision. The Stout system features a re-circulating hot liquor tank with Herms coil to insure precise temperature control throughout the process; the mash tun houses a false bottom, and is equipped with a vertically adjusting sparge arm to allow for a variation in the volume of the grain bill; and the boil kettle tag teams with pre-chiller and counter flow chiller to ensure a lightning fast cold break after the boil. Chris ordered the compact electric panel from TheElectricBrewery.com and the valves and fittings are from Brewers Hardware. A strategically placed box fan mounted in front of a louvered exterior window provide a cost effective yet efficient vent-a-hood, and a plastic conduit run through the exterior wall allows him to drain the works. A commercial grade faucet and sink set-up provides instant access to water and a cleanup zone, while a matching stainless Kobalt work table with precision sliding drawers provides a convenient work surface, utilizing the final centimeter of allotted space, alongside the cornered hot water heater. Stepping just outside the brew room, and just inside what has got to be the most organized garage in Davidson County, we encounter a four tap keg cooler, flanked by twin tower 14.5 gallon Stout conical fermenters. The perimeter of the garage is decked out with ceiling-to-floor rivet racks storing all the ancillary hardware, tools, and of course the boxed up Christmas ornaments. There is not one wasted square foot of space in the entire arrangement. The dynamic duo is most always assisted by Zea’s father Rich, who instilled in her a love for the craft, and still likes to keep a finger in the pie. Rich is a valued partner owing to his extensive background in engineering and chemistry. Zea generally functions as creative agent and prime mover in ingredient selection and strategy; while Chris fills the roles of brew master and quality control supervisor. Theirs seems to be a harmonious marriage of artistic and scientific acumens; a best-of-both worlds paradigm of progress, if you will. In all fairness to the rest of us wannabees, Chris has a distinct advantage in his quest for excellence. That is, he enjoys the luxury of a life partner who not only tolerates his hobby, but actively aids and abets it. There are not many among us who could get away with hi-jacking the laundry room and then throwing $12,000 into a brewing system. The whole rigmarole tends to draw the couple closer together, rather than to give any occasion for division or dispute. We should all be so blessed! Of course, the couple’s “all-in” commitment to brewing excellence begs the question, “Why?” Well, Chris confides that he is forward thinking toward ultimately making the transformation from amateur to professional brewer, thereby joining the burgeoning ranks of dedicated craft brewers offering up new and improved products to the legions of beer-loving citizens. If the crisp and clean American Lager I sampled is any indication, I’d say Chris and Zea are well positioned to make a strong run for it, whenever the timing is right.